Irrigation regulator coupling



June 3, 1952 o. E. ANDRUS 2,598,961

IRRIGATION REGULATOR COUPLING Filed nec. 1o, 1945 Orrin E *Andrus WI [,V l* INVENTOR.

3 5 ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 1952 th solilf suh antiallyi kc'i cesswterandlrsltant draina the root system with a minimum of loss fromlecf-f 'rE in'Jui-ingethe` regular for domestic irrigation systems with means to? i them pmmb gsystsrfn With partsrbroken away and sectioned to'show" 6r preventing@dirtfrbmfflodgr and valuable soil constituents with the Water. Furthermore, the manually directed spray nozzle requires constant personal attention, and even sprinklers require frequent changes in location to be most eective, and neither can be left to operate for substantial periods of time without attention.

The present invention provides a simple lowcost flow regulator that can be applied to the hose in the form of a coupling l between -two sections of hose or at either end of the hose and which automatically restricts the ow of water from the hose to a desired quantity, preferably just sufficient to correspond with the rate of diffusion of the water into the soil throughout the root system of the plant or plants being watered. Such ,a regulator may be left operating over night or throughout a longer period without danger of washing away the fertility from about the plant or of water wastage.

The regulator 4 may be placed at or near the inlet end of the hose so that the major part of the hose does not have to carry water at high pressure, the flow therethrough being only at a very much reduced rate determined by the regulator. This enables the employment of less costly or less perfect hos-e for a large part of the system. l

The regulator may be of various specific constructions, that shown in Figs. 5 to 7 being adjustable and that shown in Fig. 8 being non-adjustable.

The regulator consists of a circular or hexagonal body 5 preferably having an externally threaded male coupling member 5 at one end and an internally threaded female coupling member l at the other end. The body 5 of the regulator has an orifice 8 therein for regulation and restriction of the amount of Water flowing through the coupling.

A filter disc 9 may be inserted in the female intake end of the coupling to prevent clogging of the orice 8. l Y

The disc 9 is preferably of metal, cloth or spun glass screening, or of fibrous construction, and its edges are confined in a circular rubber ring which serves as a washer to seal the joint of the coupling against leakage.

Where the non-adjustable regulator is employed the size of the orifice e should be just suicient to pass the quantity of Water desired for the wetting of the ground without over-flow. Couplings having `different orice sizes are provided to meet various requirements encountered.

Where the regulator is adjustable, the opening through the regulator may be made larger, and a valve member Ill preferably having .a conical point is threaded into one end of the body 5, preferably through the male coupling member 6, to provide for adjustment of the orifice as desired. The member I preferably has its head I2 VeX- tending axially from the coupling to providefor grip of the same in turning, and the head may be knurled or made hexagonal to facilitate turning by hand or by pliers or a wrench.

The body of member IG is longitudinally slotted or flattened along one or more sides of its threads as at I2 to provide for the desired passage of wa ter between it and the coupling member The conical point on the member it may seat in a complementary recess in body 5 tc provide adjustment for the orifice B. Adjustment of the member IB axially away from its seat opens the outlet for orifice 8 as desired.

When a conical seat is employed a more gradual adjustment of flow is obtainable by the axial adjustment of member I0.

The adjustable regulator preferably has a graduated scale I3 on the end of the male coupling member 6 adjacent the head II, and which serves to cooperate with an index mark I4 on the head in setting the member I0 for any predetermined ow of water through the regulator.

In the adjustable regulator at least one and preferably both of the coupling members 6 and I are threaded with standard threads for garden hose coupling.

Y The irrigation system may include a single hose containing the coupling regulator 4 or it may include one or more manifolds I5 constructed preferably as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The manifold I5 comprises a cast metal tubular body having a threaded female coupling members I6 at its forward intake end and a threaded male coupling member Il at its opposite end. The hose 3 is connected to the member Ii to supply water to the manifold under pressure and a similar hose 3 may be connected to member Il to conduct water to anotherrmanifold or to constitute an additional outlet for the manifold.

The opposite sides of the manifold are drilledv and tapped to provide a plurality of lateral branch passages IS connecting with the hollow interior of the manifold. Adapters I9 are secured in the manifold for corresponding passages I8 preferably with standard pipe threads that provide tightness of seal. Each adapter I9 has an outer threaded male couplingmember 2U for receiving a regulator coupling d and'is adapted to conduct Water from the corresponding passage i3 to the regulator coupling. A hose 3 conducts the seepage water from each regulator to a desired location adjacent a shrub or tree 2 I.

The number of branches for the manifold If may be varied, but where it exceeds thatdesired, one or more of the adapters I9 may Ibe capped by an internally threaded cup-shaped cap 22 or vby a closed regulator 4. Likewise, the member I1 may be capped to close the same if desired.

rhe manifold of Fig. 3 has the orifices 8 disposed in each passage I8 and adapters are eliminated. Each passage I8 extends outwardly through a threaded male hose coupling member 20 containing the adjusting member Ill. The lter 9 is preferably seated inside the female coupling member I5. The rear end of the manifold may be closed, as shown.

The invention eliminates noise in the pipe 2 which might be caused by possible throttling 'and pulsation of the water through the regulator couplings 4, by providing the hoseV 3 between faucet I and the coupling. The hose serves to cushion the transmission of pulsations and Vibrations from Vthe throttling devi-ce to the piping system 2. The faucet I is opened wide and has no throttling action which might produce noise.

Various embodiments of the invention may be employed within the scope of the accompanying I claim:

1. An irrigation system employing the restrict-r ed ow of Water in a garden hose, comprising a. garden hose, a supply line for water to said hose, and a coupling, between said hose and supply line and adapted to restrict the flow of water into said hose substantially to a trickle, thebody of said coupling having means for securing the same tothe end of the hose and having at least one orifice for theV flow of .water4 therethrough, and.

an adjusting member threaded axially into the body and adapted to seat axially thereagainst to adjust the size of the orice and determine the flow of water.

2. In an irrigation system employing garden hose and the like, a manifold secured to a supply hose and adapted to receive water under pressure, a plurality of outlets for said manifold embodying restricted passages governing the flow of water therefrom, and a plurality of discharge hoses secured to said outlets, said discharge hoses being substantially free of internal pressure by reason of said restricted passages discharging into the same.

3. In an irrigation system employing garden hose and the like, a manifold adapted to be interposed between a supply hose and a plurality of discharge hoses, said manifold comprising a body having an inlet coupling member for connecting to the supply hose and a plurality of outlet coupling members for connecting to the corresponding discharge hoses, the outlets for said manifold embodying individual restricted passages governing the flow of water therefrom to a trickle and serving to prevent any substantial pressure build up in said discharge hoses.

4. In an irrigation system employing garden hose and the like, a manifold adapted to be interposed between a supply hose and a plurality of discharge hoses, said manifold comprising a body having an inlet coupling member for connecting to the supply hose and a plurality of outlet coupling members for connecting to the corresponding discharge hoses, the outlets for said manifold embodying restricted passages governing the iiow of water therefrom to a trickle and means concealed in the several outlets for adjusting the trickle of water therethrough, whereby said discharge hoses are substantially free from internal pressure.

5. In an irrigating system employing a garden hose or the like for conducting water to the surface soil adjacent plants, a coupling comprising a body adapted to be secured between coupling members of two hose sections, an adjustable restricted orifice valve in said body, a valve stem threaded in said body and extending into one of said hose sections to provide for adjustment of said Valve upon removal of said hose section, a passageway for the flow of water from one of said hose sections to said valve, and a passageway in said Valve stem larger than said first named passageway for the flow of water from said valve to the other of said hose sections, the size of said first named passageway being determined by the adjustable position of said Valve stem.

6. 1n an irrigation system employing garden hose and the like, and a manifold for connection between the supply hose and a plurality of hose sections for conducting water to various points, means for controlling the flow of Water to each of said sections comprising a plurality of restricted orifice valves, valve stems therefor threaded in said manifold and extending into each of said hose sections to allow for adjustment of each said valves upon removal of the respective hose section therefor, passageways for the flow of Water from said supply hose to each of said valves, and passageways in each of said valve stems for the ilow of water from the respective valve to the respective hose section, said last named passageways being larger than the orifices of said valves, and said valve oriices being determined in size by the adjustable position of said valve stems.

ORRN E. ANDRUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

